I got this idea from a story called 'A Light for everyone' by Alex Draco. The beginning of this story is similar to the beginning of his. However, my story goes in a bit of a different direction. But it was inspired by that story! You should go check it out, it's very well written in my opinion. One more thing. I am using some of Tearthgrrl OC's, just because they really add to the story. Tearthgrrl hasn't added anything to her profile for three years now, so I figured it would be okay to use some of her OC's. But credit where it's due!
Tearthgrrl OC's:
Maumbu- Ed's big brother, a healer, sort of like Rafiki.
Hasina- Maumbu's mate
By the way, whenever you see : ()()()()()()(()(())(), it means the point of view is changing. Also, I did some research and it turns out that even if a person is totally blind, they will still be able to see random lights and colors, those lights and colors just don't correspond to what is actually in front of them. But for the purpose of this story, total blindness will mean that all the person will be able to see is darkness. No lights or colors, just a black void. To clear things up, 'Macho' means 'vigilant' in swahili. And the name is pronounced 'maco' don't pronounce the ch sound.
Anyways, on with the fanfic!
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Banzai's POV
What did Macho just say? Thought Banzai.
"The river! The river, It's flooding in!" Repeated Macho.
Oh. That's what he had said. Suddenly, sinking in exactly what that statement meant, Banzai's eye's grew wide. Immediately, Banzai ran past Macho and up a hill. Behind him, Shenzi was thinking similarly.
"Banzai! Get to a high spot! Tell me how far the water is!" Yelled Shenzi, her voice urgent. Banzai was already on the crest of a ribcage, gazing in the river's direction. And what he saw terrified him.
The river really was flooding in! Already, he heard of in the distance the sound of water crashing against rocks! The inherent problem here was that the river the water was coming from was actually on high ground, relative to the graveyard. It had only been that ridge that had kept it in place, but the rains had caused it to collapse from weight. So now, the water would only continue to advance further and further into the Graveyard, going downhill.
"The water! Its coming this way! The dens, the ravines, the caves… They're all going to fill up!" He shouted back to Shenzi, starting to panic. Shenzi however, showed no such loss of composure. She turned to Macho, and issued a quick order.
"Macho! Make haste to the caves, get everyone out of there, of we don't get on high ground soon, we'll all drown." At her words, Macho took off running, towards the living dens. Hopefully he would make it in time to warn everyone.
"And you! Banzai! Come here." Added Shenzi. Banzai ran back down through the bones, stopping in front of her.
"Yes?" He quickly asked.
"Where is the nearest hill that might withstand the flood?" She asked.
"Oh, well. Uhhh….." Banzai looked around, hoping to find a spot near enough for them to get to in time. "There! That hill looks tall enough!" He said.
"Then get us there!" She said. Banzai took her paw, and put it over his shoulder. They would be able to go faster this way, he reasoned, as they set off in a dash to reach the hilltop. As they stumbled along, crushing old bones underfoot, Banzai heard the sound of water crashing and splashing come into range. They had to hurry!
"Quickly!" He muttered. Shenzi was doing her best, but since she could she where she was going, she was slowing them down by stumbling on rocks and bones.
"I'm working on it." She replied scathily. They stumbled on, making their way for the knoll.
"Just up this hill, we're almost there." Said Banzai. They had arrived at the foot of the hill, all they had to do now was get to the top. Behind them, the water grew louder. They scampered up, as fast as they could. Banzai pushed bones and small rocks aside, desperate to reach their destination. When they finally pulled themselves onto the small mesa, huffing and puffing from exhaustion, Banzai caught his breath and turned around to view the water.
The river's flood was currently pouring into a ravine, stopping its advance. But the ravine was filling up, and already water was coming out from the sides. Then, another surge from the river came through, and the water splashed over the ravine. That made Banzai somewhat worried. To fill a ravine that quickly meant that a lot of water was coming their way. Hopefully their hilltop was tall enough.
"Banzai! How far is the flood!" Asked Shenzi, her voice taut with anxiety.
"It's bad…. From what I can tell, it's already reached the hill with the cave entrances. If Macho didn't get everyone out in time, our hyenas are in trouble." Replied Banzai, as he stared out at the rush of white foam and blue liquid. The waves swept aside even the giant elephant skulls, plowing through rocks and anything else in it's way.
However, closer to them, the water that had filled the ravine had just sloshed over the hill just opposite them. And it was still coming. The sound of the crashing water grew even louder.
"Brace yourself Shenzi, here it comes!" Yelled Banzai, as he grabbed Shenzi by the shoulder and pulled her back.
"How close is it? She asked. But Banzai didn't answer. Below them, the water rushed up the hill, driven by velocity and the thousands of gallons behind it. Banzai's eyes widened, as the roar of the wave threatened to deafen him. The wave came up right over the knoll, rising ten feet above Banzai and Shenzi.
And Banzai felt fear, real fear that he was going to die, that they were going to be washed away by this flood and be smashed against the rocks. Time seemed to slow down, and so did Banzai's reactions. He felt like he was moving sluggishly, as the wave came ever closer.
The last thing Banzai remembered thinking before the wave hit was that was that if he survived, Shenzi would kill him for not choosing a taller hill.
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Kiara's POV
Kiara ran down the hill, with Kovu close behind. Up ahead, she saw the river pushing through the ridge that bordered the Graveyard. Already, she saw the flood rolling right over hills and through the mass of bones and rocks without slowing. At that rate, the Graveyard would be flooded in a few minutes!
She and Kovu skidded to a halt at the edge of the river. She looked around quickly, trying to see if there was anything she could use to cross. Unfortunately, the river, despite flooding into the Graveyard, was still a swirling mass of liquid. There were no logs or rocks they could hop across.
"We'll have to swim across!" She told Kovu, turning toward him.
"Wait, why do we have to cross it? We could drown in that!" Replied Kovu, clearly hesitant.
"Kovu, the hyenas are going to drown of we don't help! We have to try to rescue as many as we can!" Said Kiara, in a hurry to get into the river.
"But, but, why do we have to rescue hyenas?"
"Kovu, follow me, or don't. Your choice." Kiara said, her voice hard. With that, she turned around, and jumped into the river. Brrr, it was cold! She kicked with her paws, and tried to paddle, doing her best to stay above the water. Behind her, she heard a splash, the sound of Kovu jumping in. At least he had the guts to jump.
The water quickly swept her in the direction of the Graveyard. She plunged over the ridge, and into the flooded areas. She was pushed under, but forced her way back up, gasping for air. Eventually, the water thinned out, no longer a rapids. It felt like she was in a normal river, but all the water that continued to head further into the Graveyard frightened her. There would be whole lakes here after all was said and done!
Kicking with her paws, she pushed herself onto a rock, which poked over the liquid. It wasn't a very large rock, but enough for Kiara to stand on. Kovu came from behind, grasping onto Kiara's little boulder.
"Okay Kiara, you got me into this, now what do we do?" He asked, as he struggled to hold on to the rock.
"Just head further into the Graveyard, and try to save any floundering hyenas you may come across. Don't let them drown!" Then, Kiara jumped back off her rock and into the floodwaters. She did her best to swim in a certain direction, but for the most part she went with the current.
After she swam right over what was left of a deep ravine, she was swept around a few small hills, that had been washed clean of whatever had been on top by the frontal waves. Then, in front of her, she saw a gray furred body, lying limp across some rocks that poked up from the water. A hyena!
She tried to swim for it, but the current pushed against her. She kicked with her back legs, and paddled with her forelegs. Eventually, she began to make headway for the unconscious hyena. Thankfully, the current wasn't too strong this far back in the flood, but she was still an inexperienced swimmer. She was glad for what Simba had taught her, for without it, she might have drowned by now.
Inch by inch, she forced her way toward the motionless hyena. Sticks and other flotsam swirled around her, interrupting her swim. She wished she had something to grab onto, so she could simply drag her way there. But the water just kept coming!
Eventually, she finally made it to the rock on which the hyena was lying on. She seized the rock with her claws, and hauled herself onto it. Shivering, she shook herself off of the freezing water. Then she turned her attention to the hyena.
It was lying on its back and its belly was scratched up. Kiara examined the head, and it was bleeding on top of its skull. Looking at the face, Kiara realized she recognized this hyena, it was one of the ones that commonly accompanied Shenzi. Its name was banza, or bonsa, or something like that. She would ask it later, first, she had to get it some help. It probably had a concussion, or worse.
Kiara knew from Shenzi that the hyenas had a healer, and if Kiara got him, he could help this hyena. But she didn't know where that healer was. For all she knew, he had drowned in the flood. The best she could do for it right now was to get it on dry land, to a place where it could heal. That ruled out the Graveyard, she would instead take it back to the Pridelands, just on the other side of the river.
Kiara scooped the hyena onto her back, just like she had done to Shenzi when she had rescued her. She braced herself for the return to the current. It certainly wouldn't be easy with the extra load. There had to be another way for her to get back!
Looking around, Kiara saw that off to her right, there were the remains of a flooded cliff face, which were also poking above the water. If she made it there, she might be able to walk at least part of the way back.
Kiara slowly entered the rainwater, careful not to drop her patient. She felt the current start to pull at her again, and she kicked with all her might, doing her best to stay above the floodwaters. The hyena started to slide off her back, and Kiara had to constantly re-adjust to keep it there.
After many minutes of struggling and slow progress, Kiara made it to the cliff face. She swam alongside it until she found a place where she could get up on top. Once she climbed up, she collapsed from exhaustion. Her muscles burned from the swim, since she had never, ever used them so much before. She would probably be sore for a few more days to come. She looked at the hyena, who was still unconscious, lying next to her. How was she supposed to get it back to the Pridelands! She had no energy left, and certainly not enough to haul a whole hyena back the way she came.
As she sat there, letting herself rejuvenate, she heard voices coming from somewhere ahead of her. She looked up, and saw a group of three hyenas approaching her over the rocks. Barely able to stand up, she turned to face the oncoming trio.
"Hey there lion! We mean you no harm." Said the hyena in the front, as he warily approached Kiara.
"I don't mean harm to you either." Responded Kiara, careful not to accidentally provoke one of them. "Although this one here nearly drowned." Added Kiara, as she stepped aside to show the hyena she had rescued. The hyenas gasped in realization, and the lead hyena stepped forward to examine him.
"Banzai? Banzai, wake up." Said the hyena, as he poked his unconscious comrade. Another hyena approached Kiara, with a distrustful look on its face.
"Did you…. rescue him?" Asked the hyena with his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Yeah, I did. I found him over on that rock over there, lying half dead. I swam over here with him, hoping to get him someplace where he could get help. You hyenas do have a healer, right?" Kiara asked, wanting to know.
"Yeah, Maumbu is the best healer there is, he'll fix up Banzai in a snap." The hyenas replied.
"His name is Banzai?" Asked Kiara, gesturing at the unconscious hyena.
"Yeah, he's Shenzi's second in command. At least we have him, we haven't found the Matriarch yet." Said the hyena, with a guarded expression.
"You haven't found Shenzi? She's missing?" Said Kiara. If Shenzi was missing, that was bad. Kiara hoped she was alright, wherever she was.
"For now." Replied the hyena. By then, the hyena that was inspecting Banzai had scooped him onto his back, with another hyena helping him. As they walked by, the gave the hyena Kiara was talking to a nod, and all three of them began to walk away over the rocks. Kiara followed a few feet behind, careful not to get too close. They might take offense, lions and hyenas had never really trusted each other, and these three were no exceptions.
The rocks they walked over were all wet, and a bit slippery, but it was better than swimming. Water swished around them, on its way further into the Graveyard. The narrow path they were using was perfect for traveling above the floodwaters, and in a few minutes, Kiara came into view of a small encampment of hyenas.
There weren't many of them, Kiara guessed about thirty at the most. Most of them stood in huddled groups, whispering to each other. A few others stood on the riverbank, gazing out at what was left of their home. They all were next to the river, right where the ridge originally had been broken through.
"Macho! Who have you found?" Came a voice from an approaching hyena.
"We found Banzai, lying unconscious on some rocks. That lioness claimed to have rescued him." Replied the hyena called Macho, gesturing at Kiara.
"I really did rescue him, he could have been washed away without me dragging him onto higher ground." Interjected Kiara.
"If that's true, thank you for saving him. However, we need to find more hyenas who may need help. We're still missing over twenty members, and for all we know, they could all be dead! So lioness, if you really did rescue Banzai, you wouldn't mind trying to rescue some more, by joining our search parties." Said Macho,
"I would be happy to help. It's not good for any animal to die, be it lion or hyena." Responded Kiara. The hyena's eyes widened momentarily in surprise. He probably wasn't used to lions offering help. Then, he gave a nod to three other hyenas, and told them to get back to searching.
"Don't come back unless you find someone, be it dead or alive. Now, if you four will excuse me, I'm going to get Banzai to Maumbu. He probably needs treatment." Said Macho. With that, Macho began to drag Banzai toward a group of other similarly wounded hyenas. That was probably where their healer was, thought Kiara.
The three hyenas she was going to accompany turned around and began to walk back into the flooded rocks. Kiara followed close behind, and the four of them proceeded to spread out, searching for a hyena that might need help.
Kiara wondered where Kovu was. Hopefully, he was doing as well as she was.
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Shenzi's POV- thirty minutes earlier
Shenzi thrust her head above the water, gasping for air. She paddled with her paws, doing her best to keep from sinking. The current pushed her forward, wherever that was. Hard to tell where one was going when you couldn't see.
She spat out some water, and took another breath of air, retching out the unwanted liquids she accidentally swallowed. Gah! Blasted flood! One minute she was walking next to Banzai, the next, Macho had rushed in, yelling about how the water from the river was rushing into the Graveyard! And only a few minutes after that, she and Banzai had 'supposedly' made it on top of a safe hill. It seemed Banzai wasn't very good at choosing tall hills, she would have to whack him later for that.
Of course, she was now stuck in the newly made river, having been washed from the top of a hill by a wave. She had to get to dry ground! She thrust her paws out, kicking at the water, trying to fight the pull of the water. She figured if she went perpendicular to the current, she would eventually reach the edge. And once there, she could drag herself out and onto safety. What she would do after that, she would worry about once she got there.
Kicking and paddling her way forward, Shenzi made some headway in whatever direction she was facing. Or at least she thought she was. Being blind made it so hard to tell! Whatever the case, it did her no good to give up, so she kept kicking and paddling. Suddenly, she felt a sudden drop in the river. She had started to go downhill, as if this flood had entered a rapids.
Her paws scraped the rocks on the bottom of the river. Was it thinning out? Maybe the flood had lost it's momentum! Then, she felt herself slow down, but the river's depth didn't change. The current was now noticeably slower, as if crowding around a chokepoint…
Suddenly, Shenzi felt the current increase its speed again, and she was swept forward along with the water. The sound of the river turned into more of an echo, and Shenzi felt it accelerate. Rather abruptly, she splashed into a pool, and submerged again. Fortunately, Shenzi quickly resurfaced, spitting out the water she swallowed.
"Bleh. I always thought that water was the best thing to drink. Now, I think I've had enough." muttered Shenzi to herself. The noise of more water splashing in echoed around her. For it to echo like that, Shenzi figured she had to be in an enclosed space, with walls to provide the echo.
"Am I in a cave?" She said. Saying things out loud sometimes helped her think.
"Well, at least the water's stopped moving." Shenzi swam around the pool, trying to find the edge. Wherever she was, the water was draining into here, and she was swept in with it. She felt the water level rising slowly, added to by the river's input.
Then, a horrible thought came to Shenzi. What if she was in a cave? When the cave filled up, she would drown! Although, if she was in a ravine, the water would simply push her up and out.
Shenzi dearly hoped she was in a ravine, not a cave.
No matter where she was, she still had to find the edge. Paddling forward, Shenzi kept her left foreleg stretched out, so that when she found the edge, she wouldn't bump into it face first. As she swam further, she suddenly felt something touch her ears. Immediately, Shenzi ducked her down, a reflex born on instinct. Then, she tentatively reached up with her right foreleg, and to her horror, felt it come into contact with stone.
So she was in a cave! Oh no, she was going to drown! Panicking slightly, Shenzi reached back up and felt the ceiling again. It felt as if the cave ceiling got higher as she traced it to her left. Quickly, with one paw on the ceiling, which was no easy task, Shenzi swam to get to a spot with more space. As she swam, the water continued to get higher, but she stayed ahead of the rising liquid by paddling towards what was presumably the middle of the cave.
Even so, she would run out of room eventually. She was just delaying the inevitable. That was fine by Shenzi though, another minute living was another minute spent not dying. Then, Shenzi felt the roof start to arch back down. She gulped. That was what she was afraid of.
There was no more room for her to go anywhere. She was as high as the ceiling would go. Unfortunately, the water just kept on coming. Shenzi kept her head above the fluids, inhaling perhaps the last air she would ever breath. Oh no! Why did it all have to end like this? Trapped in a cave that was filling up with water? Shenzi had always hoped for a more heroic death, one where she died while in defense of her clanmates.
She hoped they all would be able to survive without her. Hopefully, Banzai and Macho would chose a new Matriarch that had the ability to lead and to make decisions correctly. Banzai! That was another thing. She never really was sure how she felt about Banzai. She had her suspicions about how he felt about her, but she never had decided for herself. Now, she never would get to chose if she would get to know Banzai better in that special way.
As the water rose up to her neck, Shenzi pressed her head against the roof. This was it, she figured. She knew lions went someplace when they died, but the hyenas never were part of that story. Hyenas never really got around to that sort of thing, they were too busy starving.
Actually, that wasn't entirely true. Shenzi remembered that when she was still a pup, her mother once told her a story about the place good hyenas got to go to. If a hyena stayed loyal to their clan, when they died, they joined the first Matriarch, the first hyena who ever existed. They would live under the rule of the first Matriarch, able to hunt in places where the herds never moved on, and drought never came.
Shenzi wished with all her might that that story was true.
As the water came above her mouth, she took one last gulp of air, and then held on to it as long as she could. As her lungs began to burn, she felt herself start to pass out. Right before she did however, she felt two forelegs grab onto her with their claws, and pull her down. Then, she lost consciousness, as she felt herself get dragged through the water.
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Welp, That's another chapter up! I feel so proud of myself right now. Anyhow, it seems Banzai got a concussion, and Shenzi might drown! Although this one isn't really supposed to end on a cliffhanger. I think it's obvious what's going to happen. So then, leave a review of you liked it! It's a fanfiction crime to be following a story but not leave reviews you know. And if you think you spotted some mistakes in the writing, tell me where I messed up! I'm talking more about sentence structure blunders, and not petty grammar and spelling mistakes, but those work too. Remember, I want to improve my writing, and the best way to do it is by correcting things like run-on sentences! So leave a review if you liked it. Constructive criticism accepted. No Flaming!